Improvement in provision for the recoil of ordnance



I 2 Sheetsf-Sheei; .2. J. B. ATWATER.

Ordnance.

No. 43,382. Patented July 5, 1864.

Nite *rates ,armar @mica JOHN n. Arwnrnn, or enrol-leo, rnLINoIs.

llVlFROl/EMENT EN PROVESION FOR THE RECON. 0F ORDNANCE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 43,3%?, dated July 5, 1864. l

Z0 all whom, it may concer/z.-

Be it known that I, Jol-1N B. A'rwA'rnR, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and-State of Illinois, have invented'a new and useful 4Improvemcnt in Ordnance; and I do hereby deend the invention consists, essentially, in the employment of a piston, which is passed through a corresponding gas-tight aperture in the breech, and adapted to operate in the man ner to be explained.

In order that others skilled in the art to' which my invention appertains may be 'ena' bled to fully understand and use the same, I- will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, A may represent a cannon mounted upon trunnions a a', having their bearings in cheeks orA stand ards B B, which are adapted to slide upon ways C" C oi` the carriage or bed C. D represents what may be termed a piston,7 which passes through a corresponding aperture inl the breech. On the end of the piston which passes into the cannon is formed a head, D, the diameter of which may be equal to about one-halt' the diameter ot' the bore of the gun, as shown in Fig. 1. On the rear end ot' the gun is formed a cylindrical screw-threaded projection, A', upon which is fitted a threaded octagonal nut, A2, which has in the rear end of its threaded cavity a ring, a, formed of lead or other suitable soft metal, and employed for the purpose of forming a perfectly gas-tight joint between the rod D and the aperture in the breech, through which it passes. E represents a strong metallic hoop, which may be constructed in the form shown in Fig. 1, and pivoted to the bed or carriage C. The rear end of the rod D is attached to the hoop E by any suitable means, so as to retain the rod in an immovable position when the gun is dishead D of the piston D iits snugly against the rear end of the bore. rllhe gun being discharged is allowed to recoil, while the piston, being held stationary, enters the chamber of the gun. For a six-inch gun I employ, by preference, a piston-head three inches in diameter, in order to leave exposed to the pressure ofthe gases upon the rear endof the bore around the head D suiiieient surface to insure a sufficiently powerful recoil. Thus in a gun and piston of the above givendiameters the surface ot' the piston-head D exposed to the action of the gases would be six square inches, while the rear surface o'i' the bore eX- posed to pressure around the piston-head would be about twenty-two inches, the preponderancy of pressure upon the bore being suicient to cause a powerful recoil of the piece, which is adapted to readily run back upon the Ways C C. The number of square inches contained in the piston D entering the bore before the shot has left the muzzle of the gun add proportionately to the elastic i'orce of compass, and consequently increase in the same relative proportion the power and velocity of the ball. It will be seen that this increase in the power of the gases caused by the occupancy ot" the bore by the piston begins and continues to apply itself when most neededthat is, just after the inertia ot' the shot has been overcome by the explosive force of the charge, and when the elastic force ofthe gases begins to diminish in consequence of the greater space they are allowed to occupy as the ball moves toward the muzzle. Upon a gun carriage or bed of suiticient weight to support a siX-inchgun the shock which the piston receives when the charge explodes and the subsequent pressure of the gases would gun A is advanced to a position in which the the gases by compressingthesameinto asmaller l have scarcely any effect, the same being applied directly to the hook E; and when the piece has rccoiled to its full extent, and is about to close up the spiral-spring E, the force of the recoil Will have been so far spent that the inipact thereof upon the hoop E will be scarcely perceptible.

The soft-metal ring a constitutes an effectual gas-check, and as often as the same may beconie loose by wear the turning of the nut A2 Will compress the ring, and thus cause-the ring to forni as tight a joint as when iirst applied.

Having thus described my invention, the following` is what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A piston, D, (with or Without the head D) i adapted to be projected Within the bore by the force ofthe recoil, in any manner substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the piston D, of hoop or frame E, adapted to hold the said piston against recoil, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. -The combination of the spring E with the piston D and "hoop E to gradually arrest the recoil of the gun, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the stuiing-box AL 'a With'a piston D, adapted to be projected -Within the bore by the recoil of the gun, as

explained.

J. B. ATWATER.

In presence of- J. A. HorsINGToN, (i. L. JnNKs. 

